Saturday, March 26, 2011

Coming colors in the air, oh everywhere

Today I went with one of the girls from my lab to the Holi festival at a nearby Hare Krishna temple. I've never gone before, but have seen pictures and videos and it seemed like it'd be a fun experience. It was. There were an estimated 30,000 or so people attending this year's event. We made it there about an hour after the first chalk throw, so many in the crowd were already colored up.

I looked around online and found a video of what the chalk throw looks like. It wasn't from the festival I went to (this was last year), and the idiots in the crowd apparently don't know how to wait for the count, so they sort of ruined it in this one, but if you watch it to the end, you'll see exactly what it was like to be in the crowd when everyone was throwing their chalk around.

You really couldn't see the sky. I'm sure that pulling my shirt over my mouth and nose did little to protect my lungs, but whatever. I'm glad I went. There aren't many times in your life where you get the opportunity to celebrate the onset of Spring by throwing colored chalk at complete strangers. Such as this girl who was nice enough to pose for me after I complimented her on her colors.

By the way, her shirt apparently started off white. So did mine, but it ended up looking very similar. Also, she had me throw pink chalk on her face, right where you can see her skin showing through in the picture. So she looked even more colorful afterward.

People weren't the only ones getting chalked up.

It was a gorgeous day, despite it being overcast.

Don't let the snow on the mountains fool you, it was warm enough to be out in just a t-shirt. Luckily for me. I ended up throwing the one I wore away. I'm glad I didn't have to do that with a jacket or sweatshirt as well.

I had to shampoo my hair four times, and I still ended up with some purple streaks. I also didn't realize how many Q-Tips one must go through to get all the color out of one's ear canal (12). I have a few pink splotches on my face that won't wash off, so I'm hoping those will come off the next time I shower. We'll see. I could be walking around looking like a male guppy for the next few days.

But hey, if it works on the ladies the same way it works on female guppies, I'm all for it. In fact, I may need to go buy some more bags of chalk. Just in case.

Happy Spring everybody!

****UPDATE****

I forgot I took this video right after the color throw. It's not the best quality, and I can't get it to size right, but at least you can hear what the music was like.

What I'm Listening To

The Naked And Famous - Young Blood
I went to a show last month where these guys opened. I have a new "celebrity" crush. A cute Asian girl with a New Zealander accent? Sign me up! The whole album is good, but this song is probably my favorite (along with everyone else). Although, there's something about it that makes me feel like I squandered my youth.

About Me

Native Minnow is a doctor, but not the important kind. He is divorced and has three children who live with his ex-wife. Random people take it upon themselves to inform him that he resembles a young Bill Clinton. He does.